A Second Chance
by ThatLittleWriter
Summary: Ness has been finding it hard to keep sane within the smash mansion, his relationships with his friends are poor and he's desperate for a reason to smile. When this reason enters his life he realises that life is precious and it's easier to lose than it is to gain, only a memory will never be enough. Hinted NessxLucas, TW:mentions character death, cursing, dark & adult themes.
1. The New Generation

**A/N**

I admit this is a NessxLucas (NeCas) fic but it's leaning more towards their friendship and the responsibilities (not to mention consequences) of such.

Also MarthxIke for my sister as she agreed to read it for me :)

**PLEASE READ**

_This fic is based on a headcanon of mine for Lucas which okay may seem out of character but in this fic all characters are much much older, with Lucas being around 16/17, ultimately the age up would result in maturity and many other personality changes and/or differences, however they are still the characters we know and love and I have tried not to alter them too much!_

I've written ssbb stories in the past but I was amateur and they're very embarrassing now that I look back on it, but I have had this idea for a very long time and not to sound big headed but I love it, the idea that is, I don't exactly like my writing that much.

I understand that many will not share my feelings on such a head canon but I do believe that some will!

Anyways please enjoy!

* * *

Ness has been finding it hard to keep sane within the smash mansion, his relationships with his friends are poor and he's desperate for a reason to smile. When this reason enters his life he realises that life is precious and it's easier to lose than it is to gain, only a memory will never be enough. Hinted NessxLucas, TW:mentions character death, cursing, dark & adult themes.

Rated: T

* * *

_Each smasher made their way into the tournament after having completed their 'game', their journey, their story. _

_Each smasher would be living a normal life, well as normal as possible, there was no plot line to follow or adventure to go on or world to save, the younger smashers would have gone to school like any other child, the older would be working or tending to children, like any other adult, mother and father, the royalty would be well, living like royalty, attending to their royal duties. Money would be made in order to pay for bills and food, and other luxuries such as holidays, clothes, clubs. Some smashers would be more well off than others depending on how their story left them, some wealthy, famous, popular, others.. Not so much. It wasn't too far out of their reach to make something for themselves however, some of the smashers left off as villainous turned themselves around and fit in to social society, making a living out of minimum wage jobs just like the rest of the people in their world._

_The length in which it took to enter the tournament varied for each, for some it would be weeks, and others years. _

_The smashers would enter the tournamnet world through a dream, a portal in their sleep though as far as many were concerned they're only on a long visit away from home, memories planted in their heads of their journey to the mansion, the farewells to their families and friends. The master hand would come to them, ask them a series of questions similar to the following; how is life? Is there anything they miss or would do again? Are they happy? Each answer told the master hand on whether he should stop or continue, stop with the question that would take them from their worlds and bring them to the tournament, 'How do you feel about the opportunity to use your powers and abilities again?' Very few smashers would say no, but it was upon their answer, that 'yes' in which every one responded with that changed their lives forever. _

* * *

"Are you done yet?" A very bored and impatient voice sounded from outside the young smasher's bathroom door, the voice belonging to a tired Popo who was waiting to ready himself for the morning.

"Gimme a sec man I'm almost done I told you."

"That was almost twenty minutes ago what are you doing in there?" He questioned rudely, "God it's almost as bad as rooming with Nana" he mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that, trust me I'm not going all girly on your ass, chill out and go get your clothes ready or something." Ness and Popo had been finding it rather hard to get on with each other since the melee tournament ended roughly three years ago. The two had been quite the duo, along with Nana before she went 'Lame' as the boys call it, and another young boy who went by the profile name 'Young Link', though when it was announced that the three would be progressing onto the brawl tournament without Young Link they slowly had fallen apart, it was apparent the adventurous elf boy had been the glue between the friendship.

"I did that _the first time you told me to_." Popo had to pull himself away from the door before he ended up smashing it down, his hand rose and it was a struggle to stop his fist from punching straight through the door and strangling the darker haired boy on the other side.

There was the loud sound of the toilet flushing, followed by the rush of flowing water of the taps before the door unlocked and out stood a damp Ness with a towel wrapped around him from the waist down. He smiled sarcastically to the boy who had thrown himself face up onto his bed in defeat just minutes before.

"All that for a shit?" It was evident that Popo was taking the piss, so ness felt obliged to reply just as childishly.

"What can I say? Too much steak last night." The brown haired boy growled before snatching up his clothes to take into the bathroom. It had become a thing of friendship, to change in front of others that is, only something they did when they were younger. The situation was brought up by Nana a few months ago, moaning about why the boys just couldn't change together and let her have the bathroom, the boys just replied with that 'they dont do that anymore'. Weeks later she 'moved out' to room with Samus and Jigglypuff, claiming that she needed to be with girls as she's too old to be rooming with boys. She was convinced Ness was some horny sex demon, truth was that he really wasn't interested in her like that, he made it clear by stating that "she should go take her ego and shove it where the sun doesn't shine."

"Just get dressed and go already, I don't want people to think we're friends so don't make me walk with you." Another thing that the two agreed on, was to avoid being together, even just walking down the hallways. This came about when Peach had asked the two if they were good now, which was both embarrassing and upsetting for all three of them.

Today was the opening of the new brawl tournament, Ness along with the other young smashers really weren't looking forward to meeting the new smashers, especially since the leaving of Young Link and others. The only one among them who was the closest to eager was Nana, it was slightly disheartening to Popo when he found out that she had her mind set on making some 'girlfriends', if it wasn't for Ness informing him that the chances of any girls joining were just too slim he'd be there waiting eagerly with her. He couldn't say how he knew but being in the tournaments a lot longer than Popo, he just narrowed it down to personal experience.

A loud knock on their dorm door took Ness' attention, half dressed in only quarter-length denim shorts and white ankle socks he huffed heavily and went to open it, knowing that it'd only be a lecture to hurry up and get down to the grand hall for the opening.

"You and Ne- _oh_, hi Ness."

"Nana, looking for Popo?" He responded, cocking an eyebrow as the shorter girl was making a poor attempt in hiding the fact that she was staring at his bare torso. It made him laugh, months ago had she had been claiming that he'd been perving on her when it was clear now that it had been the other way round all along. _Stupid girl_ he thought.

"Um, no, well yes, was just coming to tell you two, to hurry up." She kept pausing as she spoke, clearly embarrassed at having caught him at a 'bad time', "Everyone else is already on their way down, was told to come get you guys."

"Thanks Nana but we were already on our way." He told her, backing away into the room as he began to shut the door. He was stopped when Nana put her hand to the door in order to stop it from shutting. He stared at her quizzically, "Is, there a problem?"

She sighed and took her hand back to her side, "No just, tell Popo to give me my, my uh, magazines back, please." The dark haired boy could tell that that wasn't all she wanted to ask, or say rather, but he pushed no further, his mind was more bothered by the fact that her brother had her magazines. 'Dirty fucker' was all he could come up with, it made him smile just a bit, that was just like Popo.. before he turned into a dick head, he reminded himself, scowling at the fact.

Speaking of Popo the shower had been turned off sometime ago, as Ness couldn't recall hearing it stop, he figured he'd be coming out soon and he knew that he wouldn't like seeing him still here, he made sure to hurry himself into throwing on his shoes, his shirt, jumper* and signature red and blue baseball cap before taking exit.

* * *

Nana was right, seems everyone was already down and waiting on them, all besides a certain Prince who was still in his room, Ness stopped in his tracks in front of the door, quirking an eyebrow from the bizarre sounds coming from behind. He'd never known Marth to be so, reckless, especially within his own room, he was always so careful yet still held this threatening yet heroic aura about him. He would have left and carried on headed downstairs but this was Marth, and Marth despite his snobbish attitude and slightly feminine habits he was not at all unapproachable.

"Uh Marth, dude?" He called out as he knocked on the door, the sounds from within coming to a sudden halt. A sudden thud was later heard and the dark haired boy couldn't help but wince. "Are you okay in there? Sounded.. Painful." He called out in concern.

"One moment." A girly voice called out, well that was definitely not Marth, as girly as he could seem at times he did have a far deeper voice than the one he just heard. No it wasn't Marth, the door opened to reveal that it was Peach rummaging through the Prince's belongings. Why on earth would Peach of all people be snooping around in other people's belongings? She seemed like such a nice lady...

"Uh.." Ness was shocked to see the blonde standing before him, not to mention that the room behind her was now a mess. "Should I pretend I didn't see this?" He laughed casually as the princess before him took on a sudden blush.

"Oh gosh no no, Ness it's not what it seems." She told him nervously stepping out into the hall and shutting it behind her. Peach was a lovely lady really but she had to be one of the most clumsiest people he had come across since primary school back in his world. The kids there weren't really the brightest bunch so the comparison really says a lot about her.

"It isn't? Looks.. Pretty much like it to me."

"It isn't.. Really, look I can't tell you what I'm doing so just be a dear and run along, everyone's waiting for you." She kept a smile on despite how she must be feeling right now, it was genuine too, Ness had to give her credit for that.

"Ah well you know me Peach, I ain't no snoop, you should know though that unless I know for sure I'm just going to end up questioning everybody."

"You wouldn't." She gasped.

"I would, 'hey guys any idea what Peach was doing in Marth's room this morning?' Doesn't sound very good does it?" He threatened, however it was an empty threat, his tone was playful and he held a small smile to his lips.

"Oh now you're just teasing." She sighed, rolling her eyes, she knew Ness wouldn't do such a thing even if she didn't tell him but she wasn't actually doing anything wrong. "I guess it won't hurt in telling you, I just.. Well I just needed to wear a pretty tiara for the opening. Not to embarrass Marth or anything but he does have some gorgeous tiaras. Wouldn't you agree?" Her blush was as evident as ever, and why wouldn't it be? She practically confessed that Prince Marth has better fashion and style than she does, the Princess Peach.

"If you say so Miss Peach." He sniggered, shrugging his shoulders. "Might want to clean up a bit though."

"I, uh, oh goodness.." Coming to the realisation of how reckless she can be, she understands that she has some cleaning to do after all. "*Darn my butter fingers." She mumbled to herself as she stepped back into the room, the door slamming itself shut.

Ness laughed silently, shaking his head as he turned to head downstairs. Funny how it's Peach they'll be waiting on, at first she never seemed to be the type but she even tops Pikachu and Yoshi on the trouble caused in the mansion, even though she never intends to do such things.

"I thought I told you to get going." A voice was heard behind him a little way down the hall, he turned his head to see that it was Popo, as if the voice didn't give it away.

"Distractions." He sighed, his head dropping downwards slightly as his eyes closed, he couldn't be bothered with Popo's shit this morning. "Look I'll slow down and you go ahead just, keep your mouth shut okay?"

The brown haired boy seemed a little taken back by his words, Ness was always full of sarcasm and wit that his serious and tired sounding tone was enough for him. "A'ight." He replied, eyes cast downwards as to avoid the chance of eye contact with the other as he took up the pace overtaking Ness. The psychic set his vision on the boy's back watching him disappear round the corner. He didn't know how far Popo would have gone by now, and he didn't count on him waiting round the corner but he thought he'd sit and wait for Peach before making his way down, just incase such an encounter was to occur, again.

Taking the time out to observe the walls of the hall, never before had he noticed the careful designs of the decorative walls, each kink and curve made unique to another. Truly amazing, the creativity of a single being.

Only the bored, old and lonely noticed this shit, says a lot about how his time in the mansion has turned out to be.

"Oh Ness what are you doing down there?" Peach had approached him, she approached him so quietly it made him jump just a little, resulting in a small giggle from the princess. "Oh I'm sorry dear did I scare you?" She was wearing one of Marth's unusually pretty tiaras as she mentioned earlier.

"Pfff nah, no way." He responded, picking himself up and readjusting his shorts. He looked up at her, noticing the decoration placed neatly atop her head. "Looks good on you Peach." He smiled, yes Peach was clumsy and reckless but she never looked bad, always took the time to make herself look presentable. Ness had to admit, she was pretty damn beautiful for her age.

"Thank you." She hummed softly. "Come on, we should go, big day today." He rolled his eyes mockingly.

"Yeah yeah, big day."

* * *

**A/N**

* jumper - sweater. I'm born and raised in the UK and I understand you may wonder what the crap a jumper is? Well yes it's just a sweater with a different name, nothing special.

*"Darn my butters fingers" - may just be me but I always think Peach to have some sort of 'hill billy' accent, considering how I picture her, as this lovely, caring lady but just too clumsy for her own good, it makes me smile, and the accent I give her just makes it so much better.

Anyways thanks for reading :) will get many more characters in the next chapter, including the 'new smashers' that you all search for the SSBB series, am I right? Next chapter will be up sometime before next Monday, as I have finished my first course in college, yay! I am free until September pretty much.


	2. Arrivals

A/N

I would like to make it clear that this is mostly all from Ness' perspective, however just not 1st person, obviously. This would explain all the sarcasm in the narrative text^^;

I've also given Ness too much of an attitude, oops, oh well that's what I get for getting carried away, just hoping I can turn it around without ruining the story or plot. Wish me luck!

Thank you to everyone who read/favourited/followed my fic and an even bigger thank you to those who reviewed :)

**nessxlucas4ever - I'm glad to hear that you're interested in my story even though you claim you came for NeCas specifically, :) it tells me that I really should continue and not stop like I usually do haha^^**

**Ensoleillement - There will be plenty more Popo coming :) I plan to involve Popo as much as I can with Ness and Lucas, being one of the main protagonists along with Nana, Toon Link and their newly found teenaged drama.**

* * *

The grand hall emitted nothing but silence and the mixed aura of excitement, anxiety and mild anger, everyone was sat to a seat by the conveniently large sized dining table. It was used for meetings but Ness could never get his head around why it couldn't just be used for eating, would have made cleaning up and serving far easier and cleaner. Then again he couldn't say much, they had smaller tables to eat as friendship groups were put into consideration, which only mattered to him a few years ago, besides he always thought it would have been fun to converse with some of the older smashers at meal times instead however it was near to impossible with the layout in which they had.

"It smells like paper and old people, when was the last time someone used a duster in here?" The dark haired boy complained, taking his finger along the edge of the dusty table.

"Oh hush Ness it isn't that bad, it's professional, has to be professional!"

"Yeah yeah, professional." He mocked, his attention drawn downwards making small patterns and pictures out of the dust.

There were two large doors to one end of the room, these doors being much, much larger than any other in the mansion, they were the doors to the front exit, it was forbidden to use them. If the smashers wanted some fresh air or to play outside they had to use the back exit in the cafeteria, which was no longer in the best of conditions. A loud creak resounded from that direction, as the doors were opened and a giant floating hand made its way in, making itself comfortable in the cushioned leather chair by the end of the table. _Master Hand_.

"I'm sure you have all been informed as to what day it is today." The smashers responded with silent nods and eyes focused, all but Ness that is who only nodded, still making dust patterns.

"Some of you know the procedure from the last opening, of the Melee tournament, however I will repeat myself from last time to those, less informed." He cleared his throat, well the kind of throat a giant hand could possess anyway.

"I am glad to announce that the new smashers have arrived all good and well, now now don't get too excited people." He silenced the room once again as some of the smashers began giggling and gasping out of eager excitement. "They are new and need extra care, good manners and politeness are essential from everyone in this room." Wiggling his fingers the master hands assigned the Smash Veterans 'task sheets', assigning them to the welfare of two or more newcomers. The less experienced smashers were given informative sheets, putting a name and face to each newcomer and a small paragraph on where they came from. A certain princess couldn't help but palm her forehead upon reading that a certain "Wario" would be joining them in the smash mansion.

Ness observed his task sheet closely of two blond balls similar to his age, Lucas aged 17, 6ft 3, blond, blue eyes, his photo was of him standing in front of a wooden cabin, his arms down by his side and his expression was that of a young boy's shy smile, almost invisible to see.

Link, profile name 'Toon Link', aged 15, 5 ft 7, blond, dark brown eyes, his photo was of him and an elderly lady in a red dress and grey hair tied up in a bun, his expression was jolly and almost goofy looking, as he held a wide smile to his lips, his arms wrapped snuggly around the elderly lady. Looking at Toon Link and his profile name reminded him a lot of Young Link, however he didn't fool himself into thinking that the two would be anything alike, this guy looked ... _rather annoying._

"Nice, a goof and a giant. Anyone wanna trade?" He joked with a defeated tone, he really didn't want this kind of responsibility. His attention was took further down the table to Popo who gave out a mocking 'ha' in response.

"They can't be that bad," Peach reassured. "Look they're your age." She pointed to the boys on his task sheet.

"That don't mean jack Peach, Popo's my age and he's a di-"

"Give them a chance okay?" She cut him off before his potty mouth could finish that sentence. She really did not like cursing.

Master Hand cleared his throat in attempt to gain the attention of the smashers, particularly more the veterans however.

"Is everyone clear on their tasks and the kind of behaviour I expect?" Silent nods again.

"Good!" The hand left his seat to float beside the doors that opened minutes ago. "I would like everyone to give a warm welcome to the newcomers." If it was physically possible Ness could have assumed the hand just bowed courteously, holding the handle of the doors, gesturing for the new smashers to come in.

The room was filled with the odd steps of the newcomers, some landing heavy on the polished floorboards, some barley audible, landing softly with each step. They all held a very confused look to their faces, as if they were looking at aliens or something as equally as strange.

It saddened Ness to think that the last time this happened he was more than overjoyed to see some new kids his age arriving, however this time he wasn't so keen. Nevertheless he made sure he'd at least try, looking back at the sheet of the two boys, he comes to think that maybe they're actually pretty cool.

Ten sets of feet had made their way into the grand hall, coming to a stand still as the doors closed behind them. Ness scanned the group for his boys but could only locate one of them. With an idea to ask Peach as to where the others might be, it hit him that this is all new to her, asking her would only be a waste of breath so he waited, hoping that an explanation is on its way. Losing one of his assignment subjects before he's even laid eyes on him wouldn't be good for his reputation.

The newcomers all had a sheet in their hands, assuming that it was similar to the veteran's assignment sheets. It looked like an A5 sheet however, meaning there wasn't enough to fit all the faces of each smasher there on that one single paper, harsh to think that they'd have to figure out everyone's names some other way, considering how many of them there are now.

"Some of you are probably wondering where some, if not all your assignment subjects are.. Well, in all honesty they aren't here yet. They won't be for a couple more days however the tournament will continue as scheduled, I would like to inform everyone that this is all to plan and their arrival was scheduled to be later than others. I do apologise for the inconvenience of not telling you all sooner but I'm sure you all understand." Master Hand was always so full of shit, but at least he always kept calm and genuine about it, it's always a laugh to see what surprise he comes up with.

"Newcomers, if you would like to meet up with your veteran guide, they will take you to and around all the facilities we have here at smash mansion. After a thorough tour you will be taken to your rooms which are currently being set out." Ness was taken back a little by this fact, when was there a mention of escort? He was quite tired of all his surprises already, especially today. Surely enough though looking back on the sheet there were the orders. 'Tour around the site.' 'Introduction to shared dorm.'

"He's not really making us room with them ... Is he?" He quietly complained to the Princess beside him.

"'Fraid so dear." This only made him grunt in return. "It'll be fun, really." She attempted to reassure him on the situation, however little it was actually doing to help.

"Ugh, god there's already two of us in there, it isn't the cosiest room in the house either."

"Um.. Ness? Is it?" His complaining cut short by the approach of a timid blond boy behind them. Ness put on his best smile and stuck out his hand upon laying eyes on the other boy.

"That's me." The blond took his hand shyly, returning the typical meet-n-greet gesture. "Lucas right?"

The blond nodded silently, chewing at the corner of his bottom lip, it was evident that he didn't want to be here, another one Master Hand managed to trick into joining. The boy was nervous. He wore a pale orange and yellow zip-up hoodie beneath an open denim jacket, he wore a dark, muddy orange pair of skinny jeans, and above-ankle height black commando boots that loosened up and flared out at the top._ 'Dude, so camp.' _Ness thought, however he had to admit it suited him, despite this being the first meeting the two had encountered. His hair was a soft, pale blond, that stood upwards like the top-tip of an ice cream from the ice cream van. It brought Ness to wondering just what kind of gel the boy uses, whatever it was, it was good.

"You're supposed to show me around?" He was nervous yes, it wasn't hard to tell, though he had this aggressive and impatient tone mixed in there, standing with his hands in his pockets he spoke with the body language of a 'bad kid', the ones you'd get in high school, the rebellious type. His aura however told Ness that he wasn't that type, it confused the darker haired boy quite a bit.

"Oh, yeah." He caught himself, he pushed his chair out to stand up. Accidentally he caught the taller blond in the stomach with the back of the chair, in which he responded with a sharp gasp, having held his breath momentarily.

"Oh, dude I'm so, so sorry." He cursed to himself for making a fool of himself already, this can't be good. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." The blond replied with a deep breath.

"Um, oh yeah, the.. The tour. This way." The room was a lot more empty now, some of the smashers and their veterans had already left and started, each taking their own path about the mansion. He gestured for the blond to follow him, he caught Nana and Popo staring before leaving the room.

"Listen uh... Ness?"

"What? If it's about that it was totally an accident, really!-"

"What? No no, not that. That's f-" he licked his dry lips, it was clear that he stuttered but the attempt to hide it was rather clever. "That's fine." He continued. "I just, I know you don't want to give me a tour, I don't want a tour either, it's all good, do me a favour and-" stutter. "And just take me to my room."

"Our room, got it."

"Our room?"

"Yeah, our room, you're rooming with us and, and a friend. There's also someone else rooming with us but heh, he's not here yet." He was beginning to sweat, the blond seemed to be more bothered about sharing than he was.

Lucas huffed in response. "Okay.."

"This way."

* * *

"I'm gonna get it for this." Ness laughed half heartedly.

"For what?"

"For skipping out on my 'duties'." Lucas only shrugged in return as they stepped into their dorm. Two new beds had been fit in as well as a new chest of drawers, a wardrobe, a bookshelf and even a TV. Master Hand must have figured that to keep four young boys out of trouble was to give them entertainment in their own room. _Awesome_. They'd only been up and out for about an hour or two and already had his room completely transformed, it was hardly recognisable.

"Which one's mine?"

"Any, besides that one." He pointed to one in the corner of the room. "That's Popo's, and that one." He pointed to one beside the bathroom door. "That's mine."

There was a brief moment of silence before the taller boy walked up to the bed beside the window.

"Can I have this one?" He asked.

"Sure, go ahead, first come first served man."

Silence took over them again, it was an awkward and painful silence, the kind Ness hated with a passion. "Oh, right I almost forgot, there's a room we have here, called the visualiser, you can basically get all your stuff from there, as long as its within tournament rules, you know, no drugs, no drink, no smoke-"

"My stuff?"

"Uh yeah... Your stuff.." It was an odd question to ask, Ness could only respond sarcastically.

"All of it?"

"Well not all of it, there's a limit of seven luxury items, then you have three necessities. You're lucky you're at a mature age, I blew all mine on candy and junk when I joined." Lucas just started at him as if he was mad.

"I was young, okay. God don't look at me like that." He joked, he got the other boy to smile a little in return. It was nice, to make someone smile, he hadn't felt like this or done such a thing for a few years now. How he missed it.

"Alright Ness, show me this 'Visualiser', I could use my things."

* * *

The visualiser was located on the basement floor underground, where all the technology lives. It had been opened and closed numerous times since the tournaments began, it was a matter of trust to keep it open to the smashers, there'd only been a few problems involving the smashers starting since the melee tournaments, the troublemakers are some of the few that didn't make it to brawl. Lucky for the boys everyone else was still on their tour, so they were the first to collect Lucas' things.

"Hey.. Ness, I got it from here."

"Huh?"

"I said I got it, you can go now I'll catch you later." The tone in his voice said that he really didn't want Ness to leave but his words told him that he should.

"I have to look out for you though, you could get lost."

"No it's okay, I got it really, I remember how we got down here its just a f-" Ness stared at him for him to continue. "A few stairs."

"Well okay... But don't get lost. I'll get done for it and believe me when I say that won't make me a happy bunny."

"I got it. Ness." The blond was louder and blunt about it this time but there was no threat in it.

"See you, then." He hummed sympathetically, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Lucas, he knew if he was trying to hide something he couldn't, the visualiser doesn't let anything harmful process, so he could only feel for the boy as there were obviously other things he didn't want to be seen. Not to mention that he's new, newcomers really shouldn't be shutting themselves off from everyone especially so early. It would be rude to push however.

"See you." Ness left the basement halls and started to make his way back up to the dorm, stopping in his tracks as he came to the ground floor. "...Wonder how Peach is doing." He didn't have good relationships with many people, but Peach was someone he could always go to, she was bound to be with Mario, showing one of the newcomers around, he thought to make his way around to find them.

* * *

A/N

Ugh I can't wait to get to the part I've played over and over in my head writing is hard work people.

Psst but so worth it, should start writing some huh?;D Huh?;D Huh?;D No? Ok

Thanks for reading :) shout outs to those who review!^^


	3. Maybe

A/N

Just a note to those already having read the chapters up to now I have re-written the 3rd paragraph of the introduction to the first chapter (Chapter 1), well I say re-written when I mean slightly altered, no drastic changes however. I noticed it clashed with my original idea which I did not intend, my brain must have just farted when I was writing. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Thanks again to everyone who read/favourited/followed my fic and an even bigger thank you to those who reviewed :)

**camirite - You have NO idea how happy this review made me! I really have nothing else to say but thank you so much! It's a headcanon of mine for Lucas being so tall :) or at least much taller than Ness who I see to only be 5ft 11 or 6ft. The way I see it is that Lucas came from a healthy and active family so naturally he'd be thinner and I always imagined taller too, Ness came from a city like town full of junk food and video games :) therefore affecting his health and overall build, then of course you have Toonie who is in fact, an elf! And I always imagine elves to be much much smaller than humans, especially Toonie's kind (this doesn't count for Link and Zelda much though as personally its hard to picture them as midgets... Making myself giggle just thinking about it.)**

**Rainspell - Stuttering is one of Lucas' many adorable habits :) considering his age too! Hehe, I'm so glad to hear that you really like how my fic is going so far, I try and get down all my ideas and as much of the next chapter as I can before I lose motivation or hit writers block, proud to admit that this method is working fairly well for me! Then again I am out of college until September so I do have LOTS of free time :P oh well, more time to write for all you guys.**

I was supposed to be writing this chapter out but I got carried away with writing 2 scenes from chapters further in, my favourite scenes abhcjhsbskd I just want to upload them but I can't! Writing is hard.

Thanks for the wait all :) hope you enjoy this chapter, getting closer and closer to the parts I've been waiting for, the ideas behind the fic!

* * *

The Princess was doing exactly what Ness had guessed, along with Mario she was assisting in the escort of some of the newcomers, closer approach revealed that she had practically taking over the task as Mario began to fall behind the group, his shoulders hung low with a tired expression on his face, _poor guy,_ Peach was great but it was obvious that she was too much for the smaller man sometimes.

"-the cafeteria. Meals are served here at breakfast, lunch and dinner with various snacks and drinks available at all times." Ahh the cafeteria, Ness' most favourite place. "Oh! My look it's Ness, he's another veteran here at Smash Mansion, been here longer than I have infact." She beamed.

The eyes of a rather, wide man along with a smaller pair of eyes turned to face the approaching psychic. The smaller man was incredibly short, shorter than Mario. He had a large nose and wore a spacemen suit with an antenna sticking on top of the see-through bowl-like-helmet. He looked a little Asian, with eyes small and to a slant. The larger man had a zig zagged moustache, wearing an attire similar to that of a biker's, he looked a little like Luigi and Mario, assuming they were related somehow, possibly cousins he thought. Neither of them looked very happy to see the younger boy.

"Uh... Hi?" The psychic offered his greetings. He wasn't too sure what to do in the situation, he only came to watch, not be dragged to the centre of attention. The larger man turned back round to face the Princess whereas the smaller at least had his manners about him and waved before turning away. Peach waved her hands about in front of her, feeling the tension in the atmosphere she spoke up clearly.

"Ness this here is Wario and Olimar. Wario and I have history along with dear Mario and Luigi, and it's... Certainly nice to see him again." She lied, it was more than clear that she did not in fact enjoy his presence as much as she claimed, Ness could feel it in her aura. "I'm showing them the cafeteria. How is your escort going?"

"Oh uh, pretty good. Kinda finished actually."

"Finished? But it's an all day job, you can't possibly have finished already." He shrugged in response, unsure of what to say or how he could get himself out of this situation.

"Well there was only two of us, wasn't hard to show him around quickly."

"I.. Don't recall seeing you anywhere though."

"Trust me Peach, it's all good." She didn't seem convinced however she dropped the subject, returning her attention to the newcomers who were quickly growing impatient.

"Hmm if you say so, now, where were we?"

"The cafeteria." Mario sighed out.

"Oh yes! As I was saying-" The Princess continued, Ness began to tune her out as the trip here wasn't as exciting as he has hoped, though really what did he expect? A fight to break out perhaps? Hardly, this was Peach, so the chances of anything near to as exciting as that wouldn't be found here, he has more luck with Yoshi's egg collection. He made a quick exit through the cafeteria and into the gardens outside the back door.

Having forgotten all about Lucas in his boredom the young psychic laid his eyes on the two other youths among the mansion, the Ice Climbers sitting by their 'friendship' tree, he decided to pay them a visit.

It was one of the strongest trees in the garden, with many thick branches growing out in all directions, some of them had worn out over the years but the stronger, thicker ones still made for a comfortable hideout. The four, including Young Link once claimed this very tree as their own, hours they'd spend climbing up and around it. At one point they tried to build a tree house but the task was never a success, they vowed to one day make it happen although it seemed that dream was further away than it used to be, virtually impossible as the friendship group had 'split'.

"You lose the new kid or something?" Popo asked from his seat higher up the tree, his voice dripping with spite, though slight jealousy was evident. Ness shook his head silently, sitting down on the grass with his legs crossed. He picked at the stems of the daisies growing, casually tossing them down again. The habit of a bored or nervous child.

Nana watched from her position leaning on the tree trunk by its roots, a slight worry hid behind her hard expression, no matter what would happen the two would always stick up for each other whether one was actually wrong to begin with, a sibling thing which Ness would never understand fully, his sister was a lot younger than him and he hadn't seen her for many many years to have formed a bond like the Ice Climbers, who have been through everything together since the very beginning.

Ness could feel the atmosphere, it was tense but it was as equally calm, as impossible as it may have sounded, with a certain longing behind it. A feel that neither of the three could have put into words. Moments had passed as nothing but the sound of the breeze rustling through the leaves and grass, Popo had leant against the trunk of the tree from higher up, closing his eyes with his hands behind his head. Unclear as to whether he was just relaxing or if it was an attempt to block out the psychic below, Ness assumed the latter. Nana simply sat with her hands to her knees, staring down in the direction of her shoes.

A few more painfully calm, silent moments passed before Ness stood himself up, quickly brushing himself off before turning on his heel to head back inside with his hands buried in his pockets.

"See ya Ness." A voice called out behind him, a half-assed farewell, however it was better than nothing.

* * *

The halls on his way up were empty though the voices of the smashers from around the mansion echoed along the corridors, there was a large variety in the different voices since the arrival of some of the newcomers, Ness had to remind himself that this was probably only the half of it as there were still more to come. The sounds were driving him a little crazy, it was only noon and yet the boy was already exhausted so he took the idea of an afternoon nap into consideration. Who cares if he was sixteen now? Sleep was sleep and no comments about the childish act would change his mind.

He grunted upon the approach of his dorm door, rubbing his eye with one hand as his other twisted at the door knob. Having entered the room he noticed the arrival of the two new beds from earlier and that the room was empty besides the furniture. He sighed loudly, moaning out in disbelief.

"God damnit, that new kid told me he had it. I don't believe this." He was way too tired to be messed about, momentarily taking the time out to go through his options; he could either find comfort in his bed before him and take that nap he convinced himself he was more than deserving of, or he could go and find the blond before either of them got in even bigger trouble than the nap would be worth. The bed looked surprisingly inviting this afternoon but he couldn't ignore the fact there was a clueless dimwit roaming the halls in search for this very dorm, having opened possibly every door on the way here. There was no way in hell that would go unnoticed.

Letting out a moment of rage as he turned to make his exit out into the halls, wrenching the door open and slamming it shut behind him, receiving a rather confused and disturbed glare from the caped mask-ball following close behind Kirby further down the halls, Ness couldn't care less however ill mannered he appeared to be at the moment, if no one understood why he was so angered at the point then why should he have to apologise and explain himself? Glaring daggers at the purple carpet below his feet he stomped his way down to the visualiser where he originally left the newbie.

* * *

"New kid? You in here?" He called out having entered the room, to his surprise he received a response however not from who he had hoped.

"I assume you mean that new blond boy, Ness." The voice replied, that thick 'posh' accent indicated that it was Prince Marth, accompanying a man taller than both of them. The stranger wore an attire similar to Marth's, however more _masculine_, his cape was red and torn slightly around the edges of the bottom. His sword was a vivid gold colour, holstered up beneath the cloth on his back. His hair was blue, much like the Prince's however a shade or two lighter with a dark green bandana wrapped around his head. His shoes looked to be some type of metal, however Ness wasn't too sure on what they were exactly, _he wasn't particularly skilled in the identification of various materials after all._

"Yeah yeah, Luke or whatever his name was."

"How do you manage to lose someone that tall? Or were you not following the task set? Not good Ness.. Not good." He spoke with sarcasm, his back to the boy as he did so. Ness on a good day would have retorted with the questioning of the Prince's lack of manners. Marth was always the one to bring up the use of manners, his favourite on Ness was 'to always give eye contact to the person you are speaking or listening to', which is one 'rule' his _royal highness_ was breaking at this moment, oh how he would kick himself for missing out on this opportunity later. "I was in the middle of explaining the visualiser to our new mercenary friend here. Where are your manners..."

"Yeah yeah whatever. Long story, anyway listen I'm not all stupid, I know you're not supposed to be alone with a newcomer and that you must only be _assisting_ in the tour with a veteran, I don't exactly see any veterans besides me here." The Prince glared at him, his face turning a faint red due to the embarrassment. The taller man found slight amusement in the situation however as he made a poor attempt at hiding a deep chuckle. "I got your back if you got mine, so, know here he went?"

"I'm afraid not..."

"You're talking about Lucas right?" Both pairs of eyes turned to face the newcomer. It would seem that the two newbies had already been acquainted.

"Yeah that's the one, have you seen him?"

"I think I did not too long ago actually, he's the one with that unique hair style, pretty sure he was headed towards the trophy room, looked a little lost if you ask me."

"Trophy room, got it." He turned to head down to the trophy before stopping himself briefly. "Oh, name's Ness btw, nice meetin' ya and thanks." He didn't wait long for the response before spinning back round to take exit.

"Ike, and you're welcome." He called out as the younger boy hurried out.

The Prince sighed, putting his palm to his forehead. "The youth of today have no manners these days I swear. I'm just glad he had the decency to tell you his name."

The mercenary merely smiled at the Prince in agreement.

"I've tried teaching the boy, honestly." Ike only nodded in response, standing in silence as the Prince went on and on. After all Marth was royalty, royalty deserves all respect and Ike wasn't one to be rude to someone of high authority. "Now, back to your belongings Ike, this is how you claim them."

* * *

"New kid? Luke? Lucas, _whatever your name is_... You in here man?" He called out, the trophy room was dark, the only light to be found was that coming from the open door and the faint golden lights by each trophy stand. Here were many, many trophies in the room, for each trophy stand would be one of these lights, still it was never enough to light up the entire room. There was no response but surely enough towards the back of the room was the blond, his hand gliding along the shelves besides the trophies, making his way down and round them all. Ness quietly approached him.

"There's so-" he paused. "So many..." The blond whispered, aware of the shorter boy's presence. He smiled suddenly, stopping in his tracks. "Look they even have one of you." Amused by the ornament before him he spoke with a certain innocence, as if he was showing Ness what he hadn't already seen and was feeling a sort of pride in it. He turned to look at the other. "So many unusual people and items here."

The response the blond gave him cleared him of all his rage and exhaustion, it must have been the genuine softness in his tone. Only having known of the boy's existence for a few hours Ness couldn't deny that Lucas had quite the soothing voice. He couldn't help but smile back and nod a little.

"Yeah.. They all represent something real too. Pretty neat huh?"

"It is..."

"They'll have one of you soon. Call me a dork but I think it's pretty neat."

"R-" he pat his chest a little, mentally cursing himself for his ridiculous speech impediment. "Really?" He asked with a hopeful tone, sounding rather surprised.

"Yeah yeah. It's awesome really. Come here and look at this one of me, it's so badass." He tugged on the taller boy's sleeve to follow him to the other side of the room, the part of the room where the trophies of each smasher's final smash during battle were sat. "Check it out."

"Is that...?" Overtaken by shock Lucas found it hard to speak.

"..go on." Ness poked at him playfully.

"PK starstorm..?"

"Yeah... How'd you know?" Ness was genuinely shocked, how the other knew of the ability greatly confused him, no one but the people of his home world knew of PSI, besides the older smashers here at smash mansion.

"You're a PSI user." He grinned, seeming more than happy about the fact.

"Yeah.. Again, how'd you know about this?"

"Because I am too."

The shorter boy widened his eyes in a mix of amazement and shock, was this guy serious? Or was he just pulling at his leg? He can't be...

"No way! Really?"

"Hmhmm. I met a girl once, back at home, she could also use PSI."

"Wow, Lucas.. Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Was a little awkward bef- Before, would have been odd to you know, just mentioned it randomly."

"Dude... Respect." He held out his fist to the blond, who only responded with crooked eyebrows and a confused stare. "What, no respect?" He teased.

"Umm..." Lucas began to stutter and stumble over his words. "I don't.. What?"

Ness laughed at him, choking out a string of breathless spoken words which the blond could only make out to be something like. 'Where've you been hiding?' To which he responded with nervous laughter.

Having calmed himself down enough to speak proper english again Ness told him to just forget about it and that of course only the cool kids knew of such a gesture. Lucas would have otherwisen taken the comment to heart and took offence had he not known that Ness wasn't all that threatening as he seemed to be at first, amusing to say the least. He didn't doubt that maybe he could warm up to the shorter boy before him.

"Anyway man lets go, this room is cool and all but kid of creeps me out after a while."

"How come?"

"I don't know really, just does."

"Oh, I see."

"Did you get all your stuff by the way?"

"Yeah I did, thanks for showing me." With closer inspection Ness notices that Lucas had nothing new with him that Ness hadn't already seen, assuming that the boy misused the machine and was merely covering up the mistake.

"Uh.. Where is it all?"

"Oh it's upstairs. I put it all up there earlier." A sudden guilt feeling plucked away at Ness' stomach, he could have been there to help Lucas carry his things all the way upstairs. He smiled nevertheless, it was a thing of the past now, perhaps the blond thought nothing of it, besides he was the one that told him to leave in the first place.

"Wow that was fast, guess you really do have this place figured out already. What'd you get anyway?"

"U-umm things, clothes and junk." Ness didn't seem too convinced on his response, however he wasn't prepared to take the risk of breaking whatever bond they had formed within the short time of knowing each other by pushing on, he'd just have to find out in time.

"Right, right." Rolling his eyes he turned to leave, gesturing for Lucas to follow. "I was going to take a nap, but I'm not much tired anymore.. You uh... Wanna hang out or something?"

"Ahm.. To be honest I'm kind of tired myself now that you mention it.. A nap doesn't sound like a bad idea." It stung a little, Ness couldn't feel anything other than rejection despite telling himself that Lucas was probably genuine about it, sounding a little nervous about it he agreed. "Sorry."

"It's cool, pretty sure the journey back upstairs will have me tired out again anyway." Forcing a smile he averted his gaze to the light of the halls, trying his best to think nothing of Lucas' response. He was sure he'd feel better after he'd slept.

* * *

A/N

Phew was this chapter tricky to type out, the first few paragraphs were a chore but upon the start of the Marth and Ike scene I found myself picking it up straight away :3 I had a lot of fun in writing out those two, didn't expect to have as much fun as I did which would explain its length, originally is was to be a lot shorter but I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did ^^ finally glad I managed to turn Ness' view on Lucas around also :) do you think I managed it okay? Personally I think it's fine but I'd love to hear your opinions on how else I could have done it.

Anyways thanks for reading :) shout outs to those who review in the next chapter~


	4. Sunflower Seeds

A/N

Not much of an author's note this time, just a thank you to everyone who read/followed/faved my fic and I'm so glad you all enjoy it so far (: an ever bigger thank you to those who took the time to review, you all have no idea how much it means to me. Also have a bit more involvement of some of the other characters in this chapter^^ it's fun writing about them but excuse me for any errors on their game background or the misuse of certain words, I can't say that I've played every game but I've done my best to stick to what's canon and am doing my best on research when needed. (:

**Rainspell - I really can not express how grateful I am for you reviewing my fic once again! It makes me really happy to see it (: I'm glad you think it's cute! You'll get to see what Lucas chose to take later in this chapter ^^**

Thanks again to everyone making me feel so great about this story (: please enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

The morning was warm and bright, the sun rays shone through the window providing light and heat for the boys dorm room. At the angle it was shining it hit Ness directly, gently stirring him from slumber. Rubbing his eyes sluggishly he looked over to the little square black clock to the side of him on the bedside table. Each of the boys had one, as Popo decided to 'decorate' his with photos, magazines and empty drink bottles, Ness chose to keep it plain and simple by keeping the space for a clock and his cap.

10:13 AM. He placed the clock back down and rolled back over to sleep. He'd had a strange dream that night. Nothing out of the ordinary up until a certain point where he began to hear the faint strums of a guitar somewhere in the distance. As far as he knew no one in the mansion could play such an instrument, he'd heard the sounds of the ocarina or singing in the distance in previous dreams but never a guitar. Taking it as nothing but a simple dream he let it go, pinning the blame of the idea onto his conscious.

"Wait, shit." He groaned out, rolling back over to grab the clock again. "Ugh man I wasn't supposed to sleep all through the afternoon." Laying on his back he held his arm over him eyes in attempt to block out the sun, letting out a string of groans. He really didn't want to have to get up, not now.

"Mornin' stranger." A voiced called out to him, unfamiliar with the voice he froze momentarily. Shooting up suddenly in surprise to look in the direction of this _intruder_. A young boy in a cotton green jumper with a white shirt underneath sat with his legs crossed on the 4th bed of the room. He wore a smart pair of darkbrown trousers and judging from the size of his feet and his height sitting down he appeared to be quite a bit shorter than Ness. He had a head full of vibrant blond hair growing out in all places with long elf-like ears poking out between several strands. His eyes were a dark brown. Ness just stared in confusion, this caused the elf boy to laugh. "Sorry to confuse you, I was told this was my room. My name's Link I'm new here!" Link..? What? This was all confusing the tired psychic a great deal more. "Toon Link if that clears anything up, I don't know why they're making me go around with this on the front but there you go... Rules are rules, I suppose."

This Toon Link was polite and spoke with confidence. He smiled wide at the other boy who threw himself back down to rest his eyes. _Oh, this guy_... Ness recollected seeing his face on the assignment sheet he was given yesterday.

"Umm.. Nice to meet you too then." The blond called out, nervously laughing as he set down a picture frame on his bedside table. Rapidly filling with guilt Ness sat himself up again, this time being sure to sit comfortably to avoid letting himself fall back down again.

"Wait dude, don't take it the wrong way." He stretched out scratching the back of his head, voice tired and dusty sounding. His torso was bare, he couldn't recollect taking the item off but the fact was behind him now, he was just happy he didn't wake up bathed in sweat. Smiling at the other through tired eyes, "I'm Ness." The elf boy stared back at him nodding his head politely however it was slightly tense and awkward. "Sorry I didn't mean to offend you I'm just very tired, you just kind of startled me you know?"

The other just nodded silently again, sending a small smile his way.

"So, you're Toon Link huh? I read about you yesterday. When the first newcomers had arrived." He suddenly remembered that the responsibility of this boy was supposed to be given to Ness, so it was confusing to see that the same person had already collected his things and found his way to their dorm. "How- who showed you here?" He asked.

"Some freakishly tall blond guy." _Lucas, what was he doing up at that time?_ "Took all night but surprisingly.. I'm not tired at all." Toon Link had an overwhelming amount of excitement in his eyes, no wonder he's not tired.

"All night? Wait when did you get here?"

"When I got here it was dark, I'd say about 11pm, I wasn't the only one though, this wolf..thing and a guy in some secret agent spy suit were arriving with me."

"Ohh some more new people... I see I see." Ness laid down, his head on his arms behind to elevate himself so he could still see the other. "Did you get a good tour of everything here? It's a cool place really, too big maybe but when you get it all down it's not all that bad."

"Well the tour was alright, I got to see everywhere yeah but the guy seemed a little clueless to me. We got lost a couple of times and most of the things he showed me he couldn't put a name to. Other than that... Yeah he did a pretty good job, I know the basics that's all I need." Evident that the elf wasn't all that impressed with Lucas' help, he remained positive about it.

Speaking of that, Ness hadn't shown Lucas around that much, so that the blond even manage to make his way round the whole mansion was astonishing. He most probably did it for an excuse to go see the rest of the mansion himself. He still wondered why he was up all night though, insanity, he'd have to ask him about it later.

"Heh.. He's new himself, he only arrived yesterday. I was supposed to be his tour guide but.. Well he even told me to just skip it, he probably took you to go see it all himself."

"Well that explains a lot."

"Hm? Like what?"

"Uh, you said you were Ness right?" Ness nodded. "That giant hand thing, he asked that guy to come get you to show me around, he first said that he would show me himself but was told no. He said he'd take me to you but stopped as we got some way down the corridor, he told me he'd just show me around myself as long as I didn't tell anyo- .. _Oh_." He tensed in realisation.

"As long as you don't snitch huh? Good going bro." He laughed out loud, swinging his legs off the side of the bed to sit up properly. Looking back to the panicked face of the other boy, he rolled his eyes teasingly. "Relax man I'm not going to do you in, I'm not like that you can trust me."

Toon Link relaxed his shoulders and took a deep breath, "Oh thank heavens for that... Thanks." Smiling to the other as he gave him his gratitude.

"Don't mention it." The room quickly filled with silence once again, Ness' thoughts were brought back to Lucas and his odd behaviour. Where was he right now anyway? "Hey dude, do you have any idea where Lucas is?"

"Who?"

"Lucas- the guy who showed you around."

"Oh right, no I don't sorry, he just left me here and went off somewhere. Not much of a talker really." The darker haired boy nodded in response, shrugging his shoulders as he stood up and stretched out, reaching out for a clean shirt and his baseball cap. He didn't feel like he needed to shower this morning, call it a dirty habit but he didn't stink and he hadn't been sweating.

A question popped up in his head, it was a long shot but worth a try.

"Did he say anything about me?"

"Can't say that he did.. Sorry.. Do you two not like each other or something?" He asked with concern.

"Nah, we do was just curious." A little disheartened he smiled anyway, pulling the shirt over his head and quickly brushing out his hair with his fingers before fitting his hat on his head. "I'm going to go get something to eat, wanna come?"

Toon Link beamed brightly and nodded his head. "Yeah that sounds awesome."

* * *

The halls were bare like always, Ness had a habit of waking up much later than the majority of the other smashers so often he walked the corridors alone.

"So uh, how are you finding it here?" It was a boring and typical question he asked, but the previous conversation told Ness that this boy could easily expand on any topic. The awkward silence between the two was beginning to push Ness into borderline-paranoia.

"Great, really good. Everyone seems so polite and considerate."

"So you met some others?"

"Yeah! There was these really nice ladies, one of them was called Peach, she made sure to drill her name into my head, she wouldn't stop reminding me. The other was umm.. Something beginning with Z, I can't remember, but she had ears like mine!" The reaction Toon Link gave Ness upon that fact told him that people with elf ears really weren't all that common, wherever this guy came from must have been somewhere similar to the Princess.

"I also met that, dog..? Pikachu, some dude in red told me he was a pokemon.. Didn't catch his name.. Well whatever that is, he's like a little puppy though he was all over me, kinda cute really! Oh and a guy called Popo and his sister Nana. They were very welcoming, Nana was really supportive and Popo seems like a cool guy."

"Ugh." Ness grunted in disgust.

"What? ..Something wrong?" Ness shook his head.

"Nah.. Not really, me and Popo, we don't get on too good, Nana's the same."

"Oh why, what happened?"

"Nothing actually, we just don't work together. Kind of fell apart over the years."

"Oh... Should I stay away from them?"

"No, no way. They're actually pretty cool if you give them the chance, just not for me." He replied, a certain longing in his voice, for a while in the back of his mind hoped that they would work out around when they first began having friendship troubles. Ness would never admit it to himself however, especially now.

"Right."

Silence took over again for a brief few seconds before an enthusiastic noise called out down the halls behind them.

"Pikaaa~!"

"Pikachu!" The shorter boy called out in response, the two boys had stopped and turned to face the Pokemon rapidly approaching them. Pikachu jumped into the elf's arms and snuggled into his chest. "Hey there lil' fella." He said, gently stroking the top of his head.

"He's taken a real shining to you hasn't he.."

"Would seem so." The Pokemon jumped back down and through his legs, excijumped bouncing down the hall a little way before turning round to face the boy in green, a gesture to follow him.

"Pika-pi!"

"He's hungry, wants you to eat with him." The psychic told him.

"What? How'd you know that?"

"It's what he said." His response a little smug, having forgotten that he besides the other Pokemon were the only ones who could understand. Confused, Toon Link scratched at his neck, glancing between the two, eventually shrugging his shoulders in defeat.

"Works for me, lets go eat."

* * *

The cafeteria was more full than usual, which was to be expected since the arrival of the new smashers. Still it would take some time to adjust to, he'd been used to coming down to eat almost always alone as everyone else had already eaten an hour or two before him. They'd already be going about their day, tending to battles if scheduled or just hanging about.

"Hey Toonie!" Nana called out to him, waving her hand about for him to come over to her and Popo. Her hand slowly descended as she saw Ness behind him however and her smile dropped. Ness would have responded with a smug grin however his eyes were set scanning the room for a certain blond, who to his surprise wasn't here. Ness stood for a few moments more as the boy in green made his way over to his two other friends. He'd only been here a few hours and already had he made several friends and become one of the most the favourite of several smashers. The psychic followed minutes after.

"Ness." Popo greeted.

"Popo, Nana." He responded, hands in his pockets. Feeling the tension in the air Toon Link sat silently, taking Pikachu up on his lap and between his arms. Ness licked his dry lips and asked the four before him;

"Has anyone seen Lucas?"

"Who's that?" Nana questioned bluntly.

"If you're talking about the new kid from yesterday I think he's outside." Popo replied, his feet up on the table. A habit that was sure to bring him a lecture from one of the Princesses, or even Marth.

"_Oh so that's his name_.. Yeah he's outside, he took a bottle of orange juice and left earlier this morning."

A bottle of orange juice, was that all? Ness wondered, if it was anyone else he would have asked it aloud but he was just glad he now had some sort of idea as to where Lucas could be so he could leave his two long lost friends and get out already.

"..Thank you." Ness thanked the two, leaving them with shocked expressions as he turned to leave. Popo having brought himself back round sneered.

"Prick." He whispered as the psychic boy took himself away from the group.

* * *

The sun was even warmer outside, brighter too. He noticed Kirby and Jigglypuff playing with the daisies by the bench near the fountain. He didn't quite understand why the two didn't sit on the bench but instead beside it, weird. Still no Lucas.

This boy was already becoming too much trouble than what it's worth.

The fields outside the mansion stretched quite far out, Ness didn't really want to have to search every tree, ditch and cave for the blond. For all he knew the other psychic could have been inside and the Ice Climbers were only pulling on his leg. He'd take their word for it however, just this once. If they were telling the truth then he would have passed them as there is only one accessible door to in and out of the mansion. Something told him that the blond was out here somewhere, even when disregarding all the facts and eyewitness statements.

The grass was long and uncut, it tickled his ankles, a tickle that quickly grew into a slight sting as the constant brushing on his skin resulted in faint redness of the victim area. Lucas wasn't to be seen in any of the trees so far. He came across a disturbed area of land where the grass and soil had been roughly dug up and filled in again. _Odd_, he thought.

The wind was blowing gently and the rustles of the leaves grew louder the further he got away from the mansion, the sounds of the smashers growing faint and dim from the distance. Legs beginning to grow tired from the extra height his feet were having to climb due to the length of the grass and uneven soil underneath, a slouched figured was seen between several trees by the edge of the greenlands, his legs hanging over the side of the land, bordering on the smasher's yard and the forbidden beach. The sands were brown there and the sea was dark and dirty, the current was far too dangerous for even sea creatures to swim in despite the weather. It was unclear to most as to why the sea was so violent, it had long been put off limits to the smashers for 'safety reasons'.

Upon approaching the taller blond, Ness spotted a large plant in his left hand, held by the stem. Its size and colour gave off its identification as a sunflower, with several missing seeds. Did he plant some back there?

Lucas was sat staring out into the dangerous ocean, occasionally glancing back down to the flower. It was scary to think that the newbie was so far out of safety, out here in solitude, _and why._

"You know that place there is off limits right?" Lucas didn't even flinch at the comment, he was either good with fright or had already noticed Ness' presence, either way it wasn't exactly the reaction Ness had expected.

"As far as I know I'm not quite 'there' yet." He replied, his attention still drawn outwards. The reply was blunt but hardly threatening, the dark haired boy joined him, sitting down beside him.

"Why are you all the way out here anyway Luc'?" Unsure as to why but he felt a little... worried for the blond. Whether the feeling was worry or not something was definitely off with his aura, Ness could feel his stronger than any other smasher's here. A mutual PSI trait he figured it was.

"Was getting too loud in there, so I came out here."

"A little too far out, don't you think?" Sounding a little threatening, Lucas turned to look at him, to _stare_ at him before turning back out to the ocean, shrugging in response.

"I'm fine Ness.." He sighed out in defeat.

"I.. Didn't say anything about.." Ness trailed off, unsure on how to finish the sentence, what an odd response the blond came up with. _Has this happened before? Was the boy simply just enjoying the lonely silence and it was a reflex of his to reply with such a statement?_ That had to be the reason, there wasn't any other explanation. None that Ness would consider at this point at least.

Lucas just stared at him again as he got lost on his words, trailing off into silence. Ness waved him off, he had nothing else to say so he decided to drop it.

...

"So, why the sunflower?" The shorter boy took it upon himself to change the subject, hopefully to one of a warmer feel as the air had grown cold and dark rather quickly. The tension in the air had lifted only a little as the breathing of the blond stopped briefly, changing patterns.

"I like it." He responded, passing it over to his right hand and out for Ness to hold. "It was... One of the things I got from the visualiser. I know it'll die pretty quickly... That's why I planted a few of the seeds back there. I thought maybe, as it's so far out it would be okay to.." His voice was low, and a little shaken, however he appeared to be holding himself strong, forcing out a smile.

"Dude.. Gay." Ness teased, causing the other to let out a light chuckle.

"Shut up.. They wer- are my mother's favourite." His voice cracked a little as he spoke, locking his fingers together he held his head down briefly. Ness couldn't help but smile a bit, homesick! That's all it was, not to offend the blond but he couldn't help but feel relief.

"Oh! You're homesick! Aww Luc' you, precious thing you." He teased further, pinching his cheek as a mother would. The blond gently pushed him away but nodded with a gentle grin.

"Yeah, _homesick_."

"You'll see them again, don't worry."

"..Yeah I will." Lucas didn't sound any lighter about the subject however Ness was feeling a lot better. He had a strong, mixed feel of sympathy and relief in his gut that it overwhelmed the taller boy's aura to the point where he couldn't feel it. "_I'm hoping pretty soon_."

"Huh?" Lucas said nothing in response, he took back the plant into his own hands and studied its structure once again. "Luc'... You can't just, leave whenever you want. Kind of defeats the purpose of leaving home entirely in the first place. It's just physically impossible so early into the tournament."

"I never said I would _leave_."

"Then what?" A painful silence took place, Lucas held a certain expression to his face, the type of expression a person has when they're not sure if they should say what they really want to say. Ness looked confused however, his eyebrows drawn closely together as he stared at the other.

"Forget it."

"No, go on. I'm curious now." He pressed on.

"No it's .. It's dumb, sorry I thought I would have a chance to visit home sometime is all." His excuse was far from convincing, but at this point pushing the blond into coughing it out wouldn't bring much success. Ness sighed heavily, bringing his legs up from the edge, crossing them briefly. The sound of the violent waves crashing in the distance seemed strangely relaxing at this point.

"Well... I'm gonna go get some food. You should come."

"I already ate."

"It ain't breakfast time anymore, not sure if you noticed." Ness brought out a small pocket watch from his front left pocket of his shorts, holding it out in front of the other. The two had been out here for some time now, however to both boys it only seemed like a brief few minutes.

"Oh.. Right. I'll get some later." Ness stood himself up, using the ground to push himself up and rubbing the crumbled soil off his hands.

"You sure? You'll get the crap food~"

"I'm sure."

"Gotcha... Catch ya later then."

"Hmhmm."

* * *

A/N

Ugh the filler chapters are so hard, I also want to have their friendship and the time they know each other to branch out over a couple of days before any of the good stuff happens, or even a few weeks but I doubt I can make that happen within the next one or two chapters! Oh well I'm trying my best, not sure if I said before but this is my first multi-fic chapter! I'm having so much fun with it but its so very hard to keep it going without boring you all half to death or losing the plot.

Anyways enough of me rambling, thank you so much for reading (: shoutouts to those who review in the next chapter!


	5. Vivid Stranger

A/N:

Well it's been a while, sorry for the long wait I've been rather busy, making this authors note short, it's late for me and I am extremely tired though I am more than eager to write this chapter, oh the joys, I really don't know why I can't just have these bursts of motivation when I'm not having to peel my eyelids open every 3 seconds.

**Rainspell - sdhjkjhddkcshhjkshkjwhkjskhchrjjiern I really don't know what to say anymore ;x; seeing you reviewing on every chapter to date just makes me really really happy! Thank you so much3 Ness is such a tease right? He's just trying to be optimistic more than anything:')! And I'm glad you like what I've done with Toon Link (: he's such an old fashioned dork in my opinion.**

And again to all my readers thank you so much for reading/following/favouriting and reviewing (: it means so much to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter^^ I love writing for you guys(:

* * *

Ness never saw Lucas that night, or even throughout the rest of the day as a matter of fact before he fell asleep, he tried to keep his thoughts elsewhere, successfully managing to distract himself from such through video games and television. He had several matches after 6pm which lasted until 8:30pm, by then he was too tired to even think of the boy.

"Nnn.." He groaned out, rolling over from his right to his left, lazy eyelids opened slowly, a peek to the clock beside him. "The fuck man.. It's only 4:40..." he whispered to himself. He'd been awakened by an awfully, crazy dream. It wasn't creepy, or upsetting, or even alarming at all, it was merely _twisted_. He dreamt of a boy, much resembling Lucas only this boy had many freckles across his cheeks and nose, his hair was a soft orange that also held a surprising style to it. He was a lot shorter than the blonde however, with a much younger looking face and figure, wearing brown shorts and a yellow and green striped t-shirt, the colours and style much like his own when he was younger. Despite the odd appearance of this boy being that it was not in fact Lucas he remembers calling out to him using the name of said boy, the response he got was a silent shake from the head, and shortly after that he woke up. He doesn't remember anything else of the dream but these details stuck well, even in his tired state.

Sitting up he rubbed his eyes and stretched out his arms, he wasn't planning on getting out though he took the time to scan the room. Popo laid still with one leg poking out the side of the bed, his head turning the opposite way, Ness couldn't remember the last time he saw his old friend looking so peaceful. Shame he didn't have the motivation to throw some water on him, that would have been priceless. 'Toon' Link was curled up underneath the covers, he was one of the shortest smashers here now, his small frame taking up just a small amount of the bed in his position. Lucas though, yet again wasn't where he should be. Just what on earth does he do anyway? Where does he sleep if not here? It was more than likely possible that the blond was just an early riser and had already slept but the bed showed no signs of frequent usage.

Seeing this put him in an uncomfortable state, he couldn't go back to sleep especially not now. He was torn between just laying between the warm sheets until the sun rose, or getting up to find him. Giving in moments later he tossed the sheets aside, throwing on his jumper from the floor followed by his shoes. He'd have to ask him about the boy from his dream when he found him, he did look just like him, it was the only excuse he had but it was more than enough to bring up the question, would Lucas know what it might be? Who he might be? Only time will tell. Quietly he headed for the door, avoiding the mess on the floor, he spotted something yellow beneath Lucas' pillow, a poor attempt at being hidden, it took his curiosity momentarily but it wasn't enough to pull him off track, he opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.

* * *

There were three windows in the corridor, you would have expected more with the length it was, either Master Hand's budget was tight or he was just a stingy bastard, still the three worked well. The moon shone brightly through the windows, the few specs of dust floating around glistening in the light giving it a rather enchanting look. Ness walked up to the window closest to him, the smash garden looked so different in this light, it looked elegant and even warm in the blue. The sight gave Ness a sense of nostalgia, leading to vivid signs of homesickness, he tore himself away, shuddering from the thought. He hadn't been homesick for a good few years, there was no need to get himself into that stage again, recollecting it was a dark and lonely stage, one that brought many scary thoughts.

Taking his steps down the corridor this homesick feeling grew, growing to the point where he couldn't recognise it as being homesickness, _what was it? _Whatever it was it was growing larger within him the further he went down the halls, his hearing fading and his eyes growing heavy. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks as he spotted a figure sitting down by the wall before the cafeteria. The figure looked to him, those baby blue eyes that glistened in the moon light, the contact broke the feeling inside him and suddenly he could hear again. It was as if he'd been drunk as a painful headache started pounding from inside his forehead.

"What are you doing here this early?" He asked upon approach, his hand to his forehead in attempt to numb the pain.

"I couldn't sleep." The blond responded, a faint smile took place on his lips.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Your headache, it's my fault I'm sorry." He didn't look very sorry to Ness, he looked more amused.

"What?"

"It's, hard to explain. But that f-" Ness' head was too busy throbbing that he didn't even notice the boy stutter. "-feeling you had was just leading you to me, and your headache is just the after effects." The blond looked down between his legs shamefully, clearly embarrassed by the fact.

"Dude, I don't know what you're on about right now and I really don't feel like having you explain, so I'll ask again later." Lucas laughed at him, standing himself up and leaning his back to the wall. "Can we go back to bed or something? This really kills..."

"Here, I'll fix it."

"Wha-" Lucas took his hold of Ness' head from either side, his finger tips rubbing in soft circular motions on his temples, emitting a soft blue light, the pain rapidly grew more intense, becoming unbearable for a brief moment as he scrunched up his face, just as quickly as the pain had grown it suddenly disappeared all together. The blond let his hands drop to his sides as the darker haired boy looked at him, completely baffled.

"Better?" Ness just nodded in response, Lucas smiled a small smile. "Good."

"...How?" It took a long moment of silence before the smaller boy could speak out, was that psi he used on him? There was no other explanation for the magic that just happened but such a task was never so easy for him to do, healing was one thing but completely soothing a migraine was something Ness could never get done, he figured long ago that it was impossible to do.

"It's just something I've always been able to do." If Ness had learnt anything within the time he's known the blond it's that he is a terrible liar.

"Bullshit man, be honest with me, just this once." He responded, smiling as he did so though he hoped to have come off as at least a little threatening, honestly he just wanted a straight answer for once. This whole situation was just so bizarre yet to Lucas it seemed a common thing. What did he know about psi that he didn't?

"Practice..?" Lucas sighed out, a little fear was evident in his aura though not enough to get him to confess fully. There was no use pushing on, it was way too early, Ness still wasn't functioning properly. The blond turned away, placing his hand to the cafeteria doors, pushing it open slightly. "Come sit with me, outside."

* * *

It must have been over an hour since Ness first woke as the moon had begun to fade out into the darkness, the sun was bound to rise soon, the two boys had just been talking about silly all and nothings, smiling and laughing despite their tired states. It was really nice, sitting atop an oddly shaped rock with both their legs hanging over the side.

"So dude, I had this really whacked up dream."

"Oh yeah?"

"Hmhmm." The blond gave him a weird look as if to say to continue. Ness was really out of it because he didn't catch on. "Wanna hear it?"

"Yesss Nessss." He replied mockingly, again Ness was too out of it to notice.

"Okay so, I don't remember much of it but there was this guy, well, guy I mean boy, kinda young. And he looked like you, tell me Luc', you never used to be ginger did you?" He laughed at the taller boy, the thought of Lucas being ginger in his previous life was hysterical, though the blond didn't find the same amount of amusement in it. His smile dropped and he turned away from Ness facing out. He didn't respond to him. "Dude, Luc'? You hear me?"

"Yeah I heard you."

"Soooo... What do you think?" Again he was ignored. "Lucas?" He held out his arm towards Lucas, planting his hand gently on the boy's shoulder. Violently the taller psychic tore himself away, the act was that aggressive that it startled Ness, and suddenly he wasn't so tired anymore, he was a little frightened. The blond had never acted so aggressively before, did he do something wrong? Did he offend him? "Umm.." He croaked out, mimicking the other's position, hands on his knees, only his gaze was averted downwards. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. Just thought maybe it meant something to you."

The silence that took place after the apology was painful, much more painful than those he'd experienced before. The blond leant his elbow to his knee and laid his chin in his palm.

"It does actually." Ness looked back to him, puzzled, though he didn't speak. "He was- he is my brother." That was the second time he's changed his wording regarding his family. His voice reduced to a whisper, Ness looked to him to examine his face though it was hard to see in the dark, he couldn't make it out clear enough.

"Oh.." Apparently Lucas was more homesick than he had thought, the darker haired boy felt too awkward at the moment that he was unable to find the right words to say, he felt guilty for bringing it up, the two had been having a really good time until that. He couldn't even muster up another typical apology.

Silence took place, and the sun began to rise moments later though it felt like hours to Ness. "People are going to start waking soon, we should go in." He didn't wait long for a reply before standing himself up to leave. This was a terrible move to pull but he had no other choice right now, none that he could think of at least, besides he wasn't far off the truth, it's against the rules to be out of the mansion during night, not to mention absolutely forbidden for newcomers to do so, how the blond hadn't been caught yet was a real mystery.

Lucas didn't reply verbally but instead silently stood himself up and followed from a distance behind.

* * *

The cafeteria was still very empty, as to be expected this early though the faint sounds of the footsteps from the floors above could be heard, waving his hand up behind him motioning for Lucas to follow close behind, ensuring that he enters the building with him. Ness had the idea of having the two sit at one of the tables until someone of authority came down. This would give the idea that the two had only just woke and were waiting for breakfast to start, whether they actually waited for the food or not. He took to the seats closest to him by the exit doors.

"I thought we were going back to our room?" His voice had gone dark and empty sounding, an unsettling tone to listen to.

"It would bring up questions, it's best to just stay down here until someone comes down, preferably Peach, Zelda or Mario, the most we'd get that way is a 'hello, why are you up so early?' You know." Laughing nervously in attempt to lighten the mood.

"Makes sense."

"Yeah..."

All these awkward silences in a space of 20 minutes was beginning to drive Ness insane, he felt trapped and filled to the brim with guilt, for the first time he couldn't wait to actually get away from the boy.

"Hmm you two are up early, didn't miss anything interesting did we?" A familiar voice entered the room, accompanied by the usual mute-swordsman.

"Nah Zelda, we're just hungry." She chuckled in response as she approached the two boys.

"Well you shan't be waiting much longer, Luigi is on his way down, dearest Peach is sick today." This struck Ness as a little alarming.

"Sick? In what way, is she okay?" The smaller psychic over the years had seen to Peach as an older sister, it had become a natural reaction of his to react to these incidents in such a way, which was usually a little over-dramatic.

"She's fine, she has a slight temperature and she has lost her appetite, but it's nothing serious. She'll be alright by tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Ness I am sure, don't worry yourself." She smiled to reassure the troubled boy, giving his shoulder a gentle rub to aid the act. "Oh, I'm not sure if you noticed but you're up for a match at 8:45 this morning, it's only a quick one so don't stress, one v one on Bowser, two lives each."

"Dude... I had fuck loads last night-"

"Language!" she retorded. "Besides, it'll only take 10 minutes at the most, don't be such a drama queen." She turned to walk off, her feet moving faster than they were before, clearly she had not wanted to hear whatever reply Ness would retort with, knowing full well on his views on early morning battles.

"'It'll only take 10 minutes don't be such a drama queen', fucking cow." He mocked her in a high pitch voice, unaware at first that the blond beside him had started giggling at the childish reaction. "Oh, made ya laugh, I win."

"You win, my ass." Ness winked, taking that exactly how it sounded.

"Any day."

"Oh god."

"I'm joking I'm joking!" He held up his hands in playful defence as the blond facepalmed, both boys laughing at the idiocy taking place, Ness is just glad he managed to rid the tension between them.

"Good morning Ness, Lucas."

"Hey, you."_ 'Shit what's his name again?'_

_'Link, well Toon Link.' _The psychic response caused Ness to jump in his seat, did Lucas really just respond to him telepathically? Looking over the the blond with furrowed brows and mouth slightly agape, the taller boy responded with a half-grin, his chin in his palm on the table.

"You're up early today." Toon Link was referring to Ness, the day before he first met the boy still in bed as the majority of the mansion were up already. He took a seat across from Ness and besides Lucas, hair a mess and clothes fitting untidily on his body, if it wasn't for stated facts he could easily have been mistaking for a pre-teen. "Sleep well?"

"Eh, not well enough, I couldn't get back to sleep so I came down here, found Luc' sitting around."

"Oh so you couldn't sleep either?" Lucas just smiled, nodding his head in agreement with his eyes cast down on the table. Again Ness turned to look at him with a quizzical expression.

_'So many questions Luc'...' _He thought to himself.

_'Answers for another day.' _Again, he doesn't quite know how he's communicating this way or how he's never noticed it before but he had to admit, it was a little creepy, he hadn't meant to send Lucas these little thought messages, it made him wonder how often he's done it and how many times Lucas has heard his thoughts.

"Where are you going?" Toon Link asked the taller blond as he stood up, Ness watched from his seat.

"Upstairs, I'll be down in a bit."

"I'll come with you actually I need t-"

"No you stay I'm good."

"I nee-"

Lucas walked off before Ness could finish speaking. Sighing deeply he sunk in his seat, no use going up now, he really just wanted to get his hat but apparently that'd have to wait. Luigi had just entered so he may aswell stay for breakfast too.

* * *

"Man I'm stuffed."

"Aye me too. I didn't realise the food here would be this good, the food at these kind of places are usually, well, not so good."

"I get you."

"Oh, heads up I think that's Popo coming our way." Toon Link alerted Ness of the Ice Climber's approach, having just entered the cafeteria along with Nana and Ness' hat in his grip.

"New kid said you needed this." He placed the item down on the table before Ness, sending a smile Toon Link's way before turning his back to the two and walking off.

"Uhm, thanks I guess." He couldn't remember asking Lucas to get it for him, in fact he couldn't remember mentioning it at all.

He often prided himself in his psi abilities but apparently they needed taming, god knows what else the boy has gotten from his thoughts, unless he's a mind reader... He prayed that it was just his lack of control, a mind reader in his room was the last thing he needed. The thought made him feel so small and dominated. Toon Link looked just as puzzled, but his politeness was one thing holding him back from questioning the act, aswell as the fact that he was amongst psychic users, a subject area he couldn't say he knew anything about.

"Hey Toon, go chill with them will ya, I'm gonna go find Luc'."

"Sure."

* * *

A/N:

I am so sorry about this chapter, to me it just seems like its dragging out but I am awfully tired and I have been at this for 2 late nights, (yes nights, I've had some pretty busy/distracting days), my sincere apologies for the wait on this aswell as the poor content, still I enjoyed writing it and I have added some several new aspects to the stories and characters which I hope you will find interesting (: getting so close to some of my favourite parts which will be in the next chapter! (Hopefully)

Chances are I will be rewriting/rewording the majority of this chapter but I can assure you now I am thoroughly going through it to ensure that that won't be necessary.

**_Thank you so much for reading, reviews/faves/follows are much appreciated, shout outs to those who review in the next chapter (: _**


	6. Lessons

**Some of you may or may not have started in this chapter already, I am ashamed to say that I messed up;; so I have fixed this chapter a little and re uploaded it, so sorry!**

It's been a while, I'm glad I have the motivation to write again I've gotten so many ideas about this fic and ideas for many others, I don't have much to say so let's get to the shoutouts (: boy there's a few of you this time! It makes me so happy to see all the lovely reviews, and of course all you others who even took the time to read it, I really mean it when I say thank you.

**xFlandre Scarlet - I haven't given up on it heh :) don't think I ever will, hopefully I won't take as long as a break as I did to get this next chapter up, I also love the idea of Lucas being ridiculously tall! It just fits so well, at least for me, short, uke-like Lucas has become such a bore for me, I guess this is just my way of coping with that ;)**

**Rainspell - I can always count on you for a review can't I ?3 it makes me so good about my writing, the fact that the same person keeps coming back to it :) I really hope you enjoy this chapter, and I especially hope I haven't disappointed you^^**

**Foxxel - isanja oh my god you're too cute ;-; don't hit yourself like that3! *hugs you* I'm really glad you enjoy this! Of course I'll be writing more!**

**pokemoncha - I'm glad to hear that! Thank you so much for reading, I hope I don't let you down, all of you! Here's the next chapter :)**

I know I say this every chapter, but I just feel the need to remind you all how awesome I think you guys are, thank you all so much, everyone for making me feel so great about this story (: please enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

The halls were bare, a few odd specs of dust seen floating about in the sunlight through the windows on the walls, he couldn't say where all the smashers even spent the majority of the day, it hadn't always been like this, almost always there'd be plenty of noise echoing from these halls, laughter and tears, then again, it was usually his lot making these sounds, how the times have changed.

'_I wonder how he's doing now anyway.. Hope he's good_.' Referring to his old friend, Young Link, god forbid anything happened to him, he really hoped he'd see him again one day, even just for a little bit, to see how he's doing, has to be much better then how he himself was finding life. The thought weighed on him, as a sack of depression, however the thought that the boy was alright maybe, brought a little life to the psychic's eyes, if it was good for him then it could get better for him too, right?

_'Yeah right, when have I ever been an optimist.. Not since_-' that sound, it couldn't be, is that, music playing? Where from? No one's ever inside..

Surely enough, the further down the halls he got the clearer the sound became.

"That's uh.. That's a guitar right?" He thought aloud to himself, "Must be, no other instrument makes that kinda sound." Deja vu hit as he was reminded of that strange dream a few nights ago, he wasn't dreaming was he? He couldn't recollect anyone being able to play, or at least like this. The music grew louder and louder, the further he got the clearer he heard it.

"_But I miss you_

_But there's no comin' home_

_There's no comin' home_

_With a name like mine_," A voice? Someone was singing along to it?

"_I still think of you_

_But everyone knows_

_Yeah everyone knows_

_If you can, let it go,_" Suddenly he stopped, outside the room the sound was heard most loud from.

"_I seen more places than I can name_

_And over time they all start to look the same_," Outside his own dorm, hesitantly he stuck out his hand, placing it on the door knob, he gently twisted and opened it, without a sound he stood silently and watched as the being inside continued.

"_But it ain't that truth we chase_

_No, it's the promise of a better place_." He had no idea... The blond before him focused solely on the music made from his fingers and mouth, a headset sat around his neck, plugged into a nearby stereo. Arms folded Ness leaned onto the door, he couldn't bring himself to speak out, he hadn't seen music played like this for so many years, the sight had become alien. He would move but his body was stiff, he'd smile but his mouth was frozen. It was simply beautiful, to watch and to listen.

"_I still miss you_

_There's no goin' home_

_There's no goin' home_

_With a name like mine_

_I still dream of you_

_But everyone knows_

_Yeah everyone knows_

_If you can, let it go._"

Having finished the blond set down his instrument beside him, staring out into the window he took off the headset. He let out a sigh and laid down on the bed, a hand over his eyes, he didn't seem very happy, he looked exhausted, but with his talent? Ness found this hard to see past.

"That was..." He croaked out.

"J-Jesus Christ Ness.." The blond jumped and stuttered out, flustered by the presence of the other boy. "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

"I'm sorry, Luc', buddy but, dude..." At a loss for words he stared at the boy, with eyes uncovered and staring back, his face had turned completely red. He hadn't meant to cause the blond so much discomfort, all he could offer was his heartfelt apology, and an awarding applause. "That was amazing."

Lucas picked himself up, swinging his legs off the opposite side of the bed facing away from the other, he rubbed at the back of his neck out of embarrassment and soreness from where his head had been held for so long.

"Thanks.." He muttered out in reply, not having turned round Ness approached him from behind, having closed the door shortly before.

"No really, you're amazing, where did you learn to play like that?" The blond turned to face him, giving him a small smile in return.

"I taught myself, I've been playing for around 4 years nearly. I'm not that great but-"

"Not that great?! My ass! Shit, man, don't make me go gay just to prove a point okay but if I was a girl I'd totally have a ..girl-boner right now. That was fucking brilliant."

"Ahh stop, okay okay."

"I'll stop when you believe me."

"Very funny Ness."

"I'm serious!"

"Alright," he sighed out playfully, a small grin to his lips. "I believe you, now would you please stop and, go, fix your boner or whatever you were on about." Ness just laughed and walked round the bed, sitting himself beside the taller boy.

"It's been so long since I've heard music like that man. It's really nice. What song was that?"

"And it's been a while since I last played, a little rusty.. Oh, it's Ghost Towns by Radical Face, it's one of my favourites to play."

"It's great." Lucas nodded in response, once again taking his hand to the back of his neck. The two boys sat there, awkwardly shuffling in their seats with subtle smiles, they were like two, shy school girls.

Amidst the silence, Ness couldn't help but notice the sunflower from before hidden behind the other boy's clock on the nightstand.

"So you really are into them." He mentioned, breaking the silence.

"Hm?" The puzzled boy looked into the same direction as the other had been staring into, having noticed what he had spotted he swiftly turned back and scratched at his forehead. "Ahh.. Yeah.. Wasn't lying, and they are pretty."

"Yeah, I suppose. You mentioned something about your Mum before right?"

"Ah.. I- dont remember." From the several pauses in his reply he was expecting more but that seemed to have been it, that wasn't all of it, he convinced himself, surely there was something else. The fact he was making out that he never said it was a big sign.

"Really? Come on, was only yesterday."

"Yeah, really." He wasn't budging, this would have to do, he did this way too often and Ness found it hard to further respect his privacy, it seemed more of a habit to keep others from really knowing the boy than an honest answer. Unfortunately Ness wasn't the brightest kid, so he took it as Lucas being a bit of an ass, _but, whatever_, _he'll crack one_ _day_, he thought.

"A'ight, if you say so." Shaking his head as he replied, the silence had set again, and it was as awkward as ever. Lucas shifted beside him but didn't move far.

"You think you could play something for me?"

"I uhh... It's not really something I can just pull off.. I'm kinda nervous about that stuff."

"I'm not expecting something big, just anything, you pick something."

"Sorry.." The darker haired boy would have otherwise took it more as an excuse to not play, but for once he tried to take it face value, maybe he really was being honest this time, there was no double meaning to his words, no hidden tone mixed in that would have him think otherwise. "Really."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled, turning to look closer at the instrument, it really was a beautiful sight, he'd never been much for instruments like this but this time was different, it held a nostalgic feel about it, reminding him of home.

"Can you.. You know.."

"Hmm..?" The blond responded, looking more than a little puzzled at the shorter boy beside him who had started to shy away a little.

"Um, show me? You know, how to play?" Ness felt his face flush, he couldn't figure out why it was so hard to ask a simple question, or why it made him as nervous as it did. Lucas responded with a meek laugh, shifting his position to face the other boy a little more whilst staying comfortable, he picked up the instrument from beside them; with the instrument in his hands he readjusted himself once more.

"Sure, for a second there I thought you were going to say something else." He teased.

"Dude! No homo.."

"Who said anything about homosexuality?" The blond held a smug grin to his lips, bringing his eyes back up from the guitar to look at Ness' in mockery.

"I, uh... Shut up." He really was at a loss for words, Lucas got him good as he couldn't think of anything witty to shoot back.

"Anyway, start by sitting comfortably."

"I am comfortable." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"A comfortable playing position that is. Put your legs down."

"Oh, right." Ness readjusted himself, following the blond's orders with both his legs off the side of the bed, Lucas was sitting with one leg off and the other tucked underneath, noticing this Ness brought his leg back up, copying the other. It felt better as he couldn't lay his feet completely flat on the floor like the blond could, he was tall but the bed was taller than he was capable of.

"You catch on pretty well." The blond smiled, referring to Ness' positioning, it mirrored his own. "Anyway, so you're comfortable then?" The shorter boy nodded in response.

"Hmhmm."

"Right." He said no more, taking his word for it. With a firm grip to the neck of the instrument he stood before Ness, turning it around in his hands before lowering it down for the shorter boy to take it into his own. "Be careful now."

The darker haired boy nodded briskly, holding out to carefully grasp it. It felt special to be holding one of the blond's most prized and hidden possessions, but knowing that the piece as well as the owner were capable of creating such beautiful sound both excited and astounded him, it made him wish he paid more attention to music class back in Onett. Music has that effect on people but knowing someone close to you who is capable makes the feeling that much stronger.

"Wow Luc'.."

"Beautiful isn't it?" The blond took seat beside him.

"Damn right it is." He was a sight however, his fingers were everywhere, all over the strings in all the wrong places, he stuck his tongue out as he focused in on the instrument, searching for a comfortable wrist position. Daren't he strum though, he had no idea how but he did have more common sense than to make a fool of himself in an attempt.

"Put your fingers here." Lucas pointed to the fretboard, in three different places.

"Uh, which fingers?"

"These three." He held up his three middle fingers, imitating the position that they should be in, again he showed the other where to place his fingers on the strings. "You got to use the tips, careful though it can be pretty painful at first."

"Pain? I'm a champ." Ness laughed placing his fingers in the position Lucas told him to, his fingers were a little out of place due to the irregular positioning of the wrist but the blond said nothing, it had only been a few minutes there was no need to force the boy into discomfort. "See? Look at me I got this shit." It was evident he could feel the pinch already as his nose wrinkled as a reaction.

"That's good."

"Can I? Can I strum it?" Lucas nodded. With that Ness went all out, he let his hand run down the strings creating a rough sound that scratched a little at the strings. "Wow..." Despite how horrible it really sounded he couldn't feel any less than joy from the feel of it. "What did I play exactly?"

"Well it was supposed to be A minor but.. Honestly?" The taller boy grinned. "A mess, but it's a nice try. Here-" he took Ness' fingers with his own, positioning them a little more correctly on the fretboard, assuring that they stay firmly in place and not drift away from the board as he let go. "Try again."

The sound was still pretty bad but it was a lot better than his first attempt, responding to the sound with an open mouthed grin he looked to the blond in amazement.

"That sounded so much better." Lucas put his finger to his chin momentarily in thought. Ness continued to play the same sound over and over, gradually gaining the confidence to strum a little harder and louder, resulting in a better sound.

"Hold still a minute... Do you mind?"

"Mind what?"

"I want to show you how I do it, but on you." Lucas pointed to behind the other, gesturing that he wanted to moved round behind him. It was an awkward situation but the dark haired boy nodded, with shy enthusiasm.

Moving round to seat himself behind he swung his legs round his sides for better access, his arms snaked over the smaller boy's to create the same position. "So like I said earlier, you put your fingers... Here, and your other hand here." It was clear that Lucas was struggling from the position, having to reach around and over the other being wasn't the easiest for him, however it wasn't impossible, he'd had his fair share of 'awkward' playing positions back at his home, in Tazmily Village. Countless times would he hide up in the trees, strumming away in all kinds of positions, at one point he had to result in playing upside down for comfort, as odd as that sounded.

He took Ness' hands from the back, positioning them more precisely, feeling a little more comfortable he began to strum with both of their hands, creating a short, repetitive little rhythym that Ness could only dream of making. Subconsciously both boys let Ness' hands drop down to his sides as Lucas began to play by himself, his head and leg moving with the rhythm as he lost himself amidst the music.

Ness watched his hands move gracefully along the strings before closing his eyes, relaxing into the older boy's embrace as he too began to feel lost in the music, the moment, everything right now was almost perfect. He felt all his stress leave his body, he didn't want it to end, nothing felt out of place or wrong, it was as if there was no drama going on, no fear of losing, no pressure of winning which is all this tournament was about. He felt as you wold feel on a Saturday morning, staying in bed the day as school was out for the weekend and there was no homework or chores to be done. He felt safe and warm, and happy.

The music stopped and he opened his eyes, Lucas who had stopped the rhythm planted his chin deeper into his shoulder. The two boys felt so relaxed at that point that neither wanted to move, in the warmth of each other's embrace it would become a game of which would be the asshole to pull away first.

"Luc, tell me about your family." He was met with silence.

...

"Luc?" The blond just turned to face him, and gave him a fighter's smile.

"Shh.." He responded, eyes light and soft. "Not now.. Okay?" Resting his chin deeper into the other's shoulder.

"Okay," Ness nodded gently, eyelids growing heavy, without becoming tired, he closed them and let the other find comfort in his body. Just this once he wouldn't think on it, just this once he'd let it go, softly grinning as he leant further into the blond's chest. Maybe they were tired after all.

* * *

Finally I have this chapter written in full, I've had this drafted and sat here for a while now, I'm so happy I finally have it done :) I hope you like it just as much as I do.

PS, I've been rekindling my long lost love for Toon link, I have big plans for him, maybe.


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